KMWorld 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management

About a year ago, Dr. Michael Koenig wrote in these pages that unlike many business "fads," knowledge management didn't fall into the typical 10-year pattern of boom and bust, with four or five years of explosive growth, followed by a slightly longer period of almost equally dramatic decline. His conclusion: KM is here to stay.

That's not to say it hasn't had its detractors—some early, ill-conceived and overly ambitious initiatives left such a bad taste in some people's mouths, marketers avoided the term altogether. However, as we began assembling this list 12 months ago, it became very clear that the extended business community has readily (if not proudly) embraced the term—and not just in the very limited sense of a call center FAQ database. Rather, vendors are embracing knowledge management—as we at KMWorld always have—as an attitude, not an application. As such, then, knowledge management should extend to the very core of a firm's mission.

Companies of all shapes and sizes acknowledge that providing the right information at the right time to the right people is the purest and most effective way to give value. So, if there is a single trait shared by the companies listed below, it is their determination to treat their entire constituency chain, from top to bottom, with respect and without hubris. Clearly, attitude alone doesn't warrant inclusion on the list, attitude must be accompanied by elegance in the design and implementation of their software.

So, are these the "best" companies? Not necessarily. Countless others could have been included, but the ones listed here distinguished themselves to our panel of judges because of their role in creating, enhancing or defining a market. Equally as important, they demonstrate the all-too-rare quality of facile, agile planning and execution.

View from the Top

Please take the time to visit the Web sites of our 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management. And, in our View from the Top section, you can learn about many of the companies from the point of view of their top executives.